April 24, 2012

Former Bella Vista High wrestler Jennifer Page, now competing for Oklahoma City University, secured a spot on the United States women's wrestling national team by finishing third at 138 pounds in Sunday's Olympic Trials in Iowa City, Iowa.

Page, 19, defeated Erin Clodgo of Colorado Springs, Colo., 0-1, 1-1, 2-0 in the third-place match to land a Team USA spot in the Women's World Wrestling Championships Sept. 27-29 in Alberta, Canada.

The freshman also will be an alternate for the 2012 Olympics in London.

"What a great experience," OCU coach Archie Randall said. "Jennifer Page had a great tournament. She wrestled well. She'll be seeded No. 1 at the Junior World Team Trials. She'll be at the Olympic Training Center for a couple of weeks."

2010 World silver medalist Elena Pirozhkova of the Gator Wrestling Club decisioned Adeline Gray of the New York Athletic Club 1-0, 4-0 in the 138-pound championship match.

Page competed in front of capacity crowds in the wrestling-mad state.

The two-day attendance for the trials was 54,766 at the University of Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

About the Prep blog

Bee staff writers Joe Davidson and Bill Paterson provide news, analysis and insight on the area high school sports scene in their Prep Blog. Have a question to ask them? Send them an email any time at jdavidson@sacbee.com or bpaterson@sacbee.com.